Why 2014 Bordeaux is Bursting With Fruit and Value

The vintage delivers delicious, ready to drink wines for all budgets. For top-level Bordeaux, the combination of fruit and vibrant acidity is a joy.

By Roger Voss

Getty

The 2014 vintage is the year Bordeaux came back to the market. After three less than stellar vintages (2011, 2012 and 2013), this vintage has produced many excellent wines, some verging on superb, with quality that reaches deep into the unclassified estates.

The 2014 vintage sings of fruit. The wines are open, delicious and juicy. Even at the top level, not always pleasant to taste at this age, the combination of fruit and succulent acidity is a joy. And because there are enough tannins, the red wines will age for many years to come.

I take the greatest pleasure in tasting “everyday” Bordeaux. These are the wines that consumers don’t need a second mortgage to buy, often selling for $25 or less. In a good year, like 2014, these are the wines that should be delicious and ready to drink young. Search out these wines and you won’t be disappointed.

Even at the top level, not always pleasant to taste at this age, the combination of fruit and succulent acidity is a joy.

The greatest glories of 2014 are the white wines. Because it is a year where the fresh, vibrant acidity abounds, the white wines shine. Pay particular attention to selections from Pessac-Léognan.

A word of advice when buying these wines: Some wines are only available in small quantities. Production numbers can be small and bottles are distributed around the world as well as at home in France. So if your first choice is not easily available, check with the importer or online to see if it can be shipped from another state.

No matter what you end up buying from 2014, enjoy the fact that Bordeaux has come back with a bang.

Bordeaux White Wines

Pessac-Léognan

Château Smith Haut Lafitte 2014 Pessac-Léognan; $85, 97 points.Dense and beautifully ripe, this is a rounded rich wine. It focuses on the tropical yellow-fruit spectrum. That gives a full wine with wood-spice hints and just the right amount of citrus acidity to give it a lift. Drink this finely structured wine from 2023. Cellar Selection.

Château la Garde 2014 Pessac-Léognan; $42, 92 points. This wine, which is dominated by Sauvignon Blanc, is from a small plot in the vineyard of La Garde. It is wood aged giving spice as well as ripe, smooth fruit. There is a young herbal edge that will certainly soften as it ages. This is an aromatic crisp wine that will be ready to drink from 2021. Thiénot USA.

Bordeaux Red Wines

Medoc

Château les Grands Chênes 2014 (Médoc); $45, 92 points. Laden with wood as much as rich fruit, this is a fully structured wine. Dark toast is prominent at this young stage although this will go as the wine balances out. Then it will be a dense wine full of black fruits and with balanced tannins and acidity. Drink from 2021. Bernard Magrez.

Château Greysac 2014 (Médoc); $20, 91 points. With 135 acres under vine, this is a large estate. The high percentage of Merlot in the blend gives this rich wine its ripe blackberry smoky fruits. It is juicy and really fruity with just enough tannin to give the wine shape. Drink this wine from 2020. Esprit du Vin.

Pauillac

Château Pontet-Canet 2014 (Pauillac); $96, 96 points. This is a finely structured wine with dark tannins and intense black fruits. The estate, with its biodynamically grown fruit, has given an impressively pure wine, packed with tight serious tannins and a fine structure of black-plum skins and intense acidity. It is direct, firm and with a huge potential over many years. Drink from 2027. Cellar Selection.

Château La Fleur Peyrabon 2014 (Pauillac); $29, 92 points. A small part of Château Peyrabon (Haut- Médoc) is in the Pauillac appellation and is vinified and bottled separately. The wine delivers great fruit and equal richness. It is spice, packed with black plum and berry flavors. It is a powerful dense wine to age for several years. Drink from 2023. Millésima USA.

Pomerol

Vieux Château Certan 2014 (Pomerol); $130, 97 points. This is a rich, finely structured wine. It is highly perfumed, packed with black fruits and a dark, firm texture. At the same time, the acidity is intense and the structure tight, suggesting a wine to age. Beautifully endowed with great fruit, it will take time to develop. Drink from 2026. Cellar Selection.

Château Hosanna 2014 (Pomerol); $130, 94 points. This is a small, 10-acre property, owned by the Moueix family, at the heart of the Pomerol plateau. With its 30% Cabernet Franc it is perfumed and ripe, giving delicious black fruits as well as a firmer structure. The wine is set for a long aging with great potential. Drink from 2024.

Roger Voss covers Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, the Loire and South-West France as well as Portugal. His passion is matching food with wine, bringing the pleasures of the table to wine lovers. He has written six books on wine and food, and was previously national correspondent on wine for the London Daily Telegraph. He is based in the Bordeaux region.
Email: rvoss@wineenthusiast.net